flyingcrazy

BA have said they wish to start new Asian and North American routes with the BMI slots they have acquired at LHR

do you think we may see a 1x daily Portland-London service?

As far as I know Portland has only one direct European flight which is a Delta 1x daily to Amsterdam

Lufthansa used to run a Portland-Frankfurt 1x daily but stopped after it was losing money and providing low yields

The LH FRA and DL AMS service are very reliant on transfer traffic onwards to other European, African and Asian destinations and not so much O&D

However if BA started a Portland service they would get the best of both worlds, as Portland residents could connect onwards to BA's network to Africa, Europe and Asia but also I believe the O&D would be a lot higher as London is a bigger destination than Amsterdam and Frankfurt. I am aware that many business people and leisure travellers drive up to Seattle to fly on the BA direct to LHR from there. So would it not be a good idea for BA to use a LHR slot for Portland service?

your views?

keeping in mind that BA have made Phoenix work whilst Lufthansa could'nt

cblaisd

Since you are raising an airline-specific question, I will move to the appropriate airline forum from the United States/West forum

cblaisd
Senior Moderator

oscietra

I think Fort Lauderdale is more likely, once the runway extension is completed.

stewaran

I am by no means an expert, but i think it would be very far down the list of priorities. In fact my guess would be that it wouldnt even be on the list!

flyingcrazy

Ive heard new destinations in the US are one of IAG's priority to increase connecting passengers at LHR

flyingcrazy

Maybe from LGW

I really dont see the need for a FLL flight from LHR, its a holiday airport mainly filled with O&D traffic so would most likely be a LGW flight

HIDDY

Portland could be an interesting addition to the BA network....I think it could work. All depends whether BA think it would affect the SEA service or not.

Phil the Flyer

How about this thread instead:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...bmi-slots.html

Hubbabridge

Portland would seem an unlikely choice, it is not a BIG holiday destination and it is not a big commercial centre so I would say no.

Skyline

I'd love to see a direct service from PDX - purely for logistical reasons since I am based here! It is a 3 hour drive up I-5 to Seattle, but worth it!

As much I wish, I doubt a new routing would happen since the customer base simply isn't big enough to support the flight. Lufthansa tried, but even with the Nike, Daimler, Adidas connections (and monetary incentives/support from the Port of Portland) cancelled the route.
Interesting though that Virgin America will start flights to SFO and LAX - who knows, potentially the development for a Virgin Atlantic PDX-LGW route in the future?

DYKWIA

Not sure about the flight, but Portland is one of the best kept secrets in the US Fantastic place.

flyingcrazy

yes but Delta can make a daily AMS work to feed on to the KLM network which I presume is mainly full of transfer pax

BA could not only fill their planes with transfer pax but also a bit more maybe not much but still more O&D to London

flyingcrazy

Virgin never start new routes they always copy other airlines and dont take risks

Its most likely that BA would start a PDX-LON service and if its successful Virgin would launch one a couple of years later. Also remember LGW would not provide the same transfer opportunities that LHR would unless the Heathwick rail is built that is

Tanaka07

PDX-LHR new 787 route.

HIDDY

I've certainly been noticing the city and area getting far more positive publicity recently than it has ever got.

I only take notice because I met a lovely family from Portland many years ago who made me bacon and pancakes for breakfast at a camp site near Seattle.